Jean-Luc Nancy

Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe

The first authoritative study of the emergence of the modern concept of literature in German romanticism.

The Theory of Literature in German Romanticism

The Literary Absolute

Christopher Fynsk

Philosopher, literary critic, translator (of Nietzsche and Benjamin), Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe is one of the leading intellectual figures in France. This volume of six essays deals with the relation between philosophy and aesthetics, particularly the role of mimesis in a metaphysics of representation. Comment [1997] "Typography is a book whose importance has not diminished since its first publication in French in 1979. On the contrary, I would say, it is only now that one can truly begin to appreciate the groundbreaking status of these essays. The points it makes, the way it approaches the questions of mimesis, fictionality, and figurality, is unique. There are no comparable books, or books that could supersede it." Rudolphe Gasché, State University of New York, Buffalo "Lacoue-Labarthe's essays still set the standards for thinking through the problem of subjectivity without simply retreating behind insights already gained. But this book is much more than a collection of essays: it constitutes a philosophical project in its own right. Anybody interested in the problem of mimesiswhether from a psychoanalytic, platonic, or any other philosophical anglecannot avoid an encounter with this book. Lacoue-Labarthe is a philosopher and a comparatist in the highest sense of the word, and the breadth of his knowledge and the rigor of his thought are exemplary." Eva Geulen, New York University Review "In demonstrating how mimesis has determined philosophical thought, Lacoue-Labarthe provokes us into reconsidering our understanding of history and politics. . . . Together with the introduction, these essays are essential reading for anyone interested in Heidegger, postmodernism, and the history of mimesis in philosophy and literature." The Review of Metaphysics

Mimesis, Philosophy, Politics

Typography

This book is a close reading of Jacques Lacans seminal essay, The Agency of the Letter in the Unconscious or Reason Since Freud,  selected for the particular light it casts on Lacans complex relation to linguistics, psychoanalysis, and philosophy. It clarifies the way Lacan renews or transforms the psychoanalytic field, through his diversion of Saussures theory of the sign, his radicalization of Freuds fundamental concepts, and his subversion of dominant philosophical values. The authors argue, however, that Lacans discourse is marked by a deep ambiguity: while he invents a new language, he nonetheless maintains the traditional metaphysical motifs of systemacity, foundation, and truth.

A Reading of Lacan

Title of the Letter, The

Le mythe nazi

An analysis of the historical position of Paul Celan's poetry, this book addresses the question of a lyric language that would not be the expression of subjectivity. Lacoue-Labarthe defines the subject as the principle that founds, organizes, and secures both cognition and action, a figure not only of domination but of the extermination of everything other than itself.

Poetry as Experience

La Germania segreta di Heidegger

Hans-Georg Gadamer

Jaques Derrida

Three renowned philosophers discuss the work of Martin Heidegger, and the moral quandary of engaging with a major philosopher who was also a Nazi. In February 1988, philosophers Jacques Derrida, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe came together in Heidelberg before a large audience to discuss the philosophical and political implications of Martin Heidegger’s thought. Heidegger’s involvement in Nazism has always been an unsettling stain on his legacy. But what is its real relation to his work in phenomenology or hermeneutics? What are the responsibilities of those who read, analyze, and elaborate this thought? And what is at stake should this important but compromised philosopher be completely dismissed? The reflections presented by three of the most prominent of Heidegger’s readers, spoken in French and transcribed here, were an attempt to approach these questions before a broad public while maintaining a nuanced view of the questions at issue. Ranging over two days and including exchanges with one another and with the audience, the discussions pursued by these major thinkers remain highly relevant today. Also included are a forward by Jean-Luc Nancy and a preface by Reiner Wiehl.

Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe

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